Lighthouse Reef, Belize
As Undersea Specialist on board the Sea Voyager, the day we spent visiting one of Belize’s remote atolls, Lighthouse Reef, was undoubtedly my highlight of the week! It is one of only four atolls found in the Caribbean, and is home to the most spectacular drop-offs I have ever seen: walls of corals, sponges and other invertebrates stretching down for hundreds of feet, off into the deep blue sea. And the visibility! We have estimated it to be close to 150 or 200 feet, and such eerie transparency gave divers the feeling we were flying off cliffs, amongst strange wingless creatures.
The shelter and protection of the reef structure means that many of the fish species found in the area need not be too concerned about camouflage, so exhibit the most spectacular colours and patterns. Amongst two of the best loved fish families inhabiting the nooks and crannies amongst the corals and sponges are the angelfish and parrotfish, though well over 4000 fish species (or 5% of the total fish species in the world) are found amongst the reefs of our planet – an extraordinary biodiversity that rivals any terrestrial ecosystem, and way surpasses any of the aquatic ones.
The French angelfish is sometimes nicknamed the “Lights of Paris” due to the golden edges to their many scales. It is a fearless fish that was definitely not camera-shy, as I managed to get some great footage of it as it fed. Angelfish are carnivorous animals that eat coral polyps and are also amongst just 11 fish species that prey upon sponges, managing to overcome the siliceous spicules that the latter produce. They can be told apart from the similarly shaped butterfly fish by their size and the well-developed preopercular spine on their gill covers. They also have extended rear dorsal and anal fins that the butterfly fish lack, and the family is represented by seven gorgeous species in the Caribbean waters.
Another quintessential tropical reef resident is the parrotfish, thus named for the fusion of its teeth in a parrot-like beak that allows it to break off pieces of reef that are then ground up by a set of pharyngeal jaws. The polyps and algae found within the matrix of calcium carbonate are digested, whilst the fine white powder is excreted, an important component of the beautiful white beaches found on all these cayes. The photo depicts a terminal phase (they have several different phases in their lifecycle, so different-looking as to have led members of the same species to be mis-classified in the past) stoplight parrotfish, one of the largest and most conspicuous of this large family on Belizean reefs.
These are just two of my personal favourites amongst hundreds of unbelievably beautiful creatures, and it is a great source of joy to me to introduce these animals to all our visitors.
